Whip up a batch of irresistibly chewy Air Fryer chocolate chip cookies with ease. This simple recipe delivers perfect, gooey-centred treats every time, no oven required!
*This post may contain affiliate links to products I find useful when making this recipe. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.*
Easy air fryer chocolate chip cookies are brilliant.
The air fryer is a bit like a crazy fan-assisted oven, blowing hot air about like mad. This means cooking things like potato wedges that you want to be crispy on the outside is great.
On the other hand, if you are cooking something like a cake that needs to be even, you have to make a few adjustments.
The air fryer is, I think, perfect for cookies. It crisps the tops beautifully, but the middles stay soft and chewy, which is just how I like my cookies.
But there is a knack, and it might take you a few goes to get it just right.
We made a lot of cookies this week!
Why I Love Air Fryer Chocolate Chip Cookies
I think these are the Best air fryer chocolate chip cookies (Bias, I know!), and I love them because:
- They have the perfect crispy edge and soft centre texture. Ideal with an afternoon hot chocolate or coffee.
- Using chunks of chocolate instead of chocolate chips means lots of big bites of delicious chocolate.
- Chocolate chip cookies in the air fryer are great for baking with kids.
- If you’ve not got access to an oven, you can still make yummy cookies!
- Once you’ve perfected it, making chocolate chip cookies in air fryer is super easy.
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Ingredients For Chocolate Chip Cookies
When I make chocolate chip air fryer cookies, I use:
Unsalted Butter – You can use margarine, too, but butter is better!
Light Brown Soft Sugar
Granulated Sugar – I like the combination of brown sugar and white sugar, but all of one, either one, is ok too if that’s all you’ve got.
Egg
Golden Syrup
Vanilla Essence/Vanilla Extract
Plain Flour
Bicarbonate of Soda
Milk Chocolate – Swap it to dark or a combination of both if that’s how you like your cookies.
You’ll Also Need
Exactly what you use and how you air fry cookies will depend on how big your air fryer is and the shape of your basket. You may need to make some adjustments accordingly.
- Baking paper with holes. I cut mine myself. It’s a square of reusable paper (affiliate link), with about 20-25 5mm(ish) holes cut at somewhat even intervals.
- Air fryer with crisper tray – you can buy these if you need to (affiliate link).
- Mixing bowl.
- Electric whisk. You can do it by hand, but it’s easier with an electric whisk (affiliate link).
- Sandwich bag and rolling pin to beat the chocolate.
- Small pan to melt butter.
How to Make Chocolate Chip Cookies in an Air Fryer – Step-by-Step Instructions
Full, easy-to-follow instructions and quantities are available in the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
Step One
Carefully melt the butter. I do this in a small pan on the hob, but you can do it in the microwave if you prefer.
Step Two
Place the squares of chocolate in a large sandwich bag and bash with a rolling pin to create smaller, uneven chunks.
There are other ways to do this, but I really enjoy the bashing!
Set to one side.
Step Three
Place the sugars and melted butter in a large mixing bowl and whisk until smooth. I use an electric whisk on medium power, which only takes a few seconds. It’ll take a little longer if you are mixing by hand.
Step Four
In a small bowl, whisk together the egg, vanilla and syrup. The syrup will sink to the bottom a little, but that’s ok; just make sure it all gets poured into the egg mix.
Step Five
Pour the egg mixture into the butter and sugar and whisk together. Again, this doesn’t take long.
Step Six
Add the flour and bicarb and whisk until smooth.
Step Seven
Tip in the broken-up chocolate and whisk or fold through until spread out evenly.
Step Eight
Place the cookie dough in the fridge for 30 minutes to 1 hour.
Step Nine
When the dough is chilled, preheat the air fryer to 150 degrees and set for 11 minutes. This is for four pretty large cookies.
If your air fryer is a different size, and you are baking more or less cookies, you might need to adjust the time and temperature accordingly.
The good thing about cooking in small batches is that you get a few goes to get it right!
Step Ten
Scoop out four golf ball-sized balls of dough and roll.
Step Eleven
Place on a square of baking paper with small holes cut in.
Step Twelve
Press down into rounds that are between 5mm and 1cm thick, making sure there’s a little room between them.
Step Thirteen
Carefully place them in the preheated air fryer. I lift the paper carefully and kind of fold it a little so it’s a bit like a cookie hammock.
Then, I drop it into the basket and shake it with the handle to spread the paper out evenly.
I find this the best way to avoid the risk of catching the inside of the basket with my hand or arm. You can see my technique in this TikTok video.
Step Fourteen
Bake in the air fryer for 11 minutes.
Step Fifteen
Leave them in the air fryer basket to firm up for 5-10 minutes before removing them. If you try to remove them immediately, they’ll be very soft and might fall apart.
Waiting also means that you can lift the paper out carefully, again, without burns!
Step Sixteen
Repeat with all of the dough. This recipe makes around 16 cookies.
Pro Tips for Perfect Chewy Air Fryer Chocolate Chip Cookies
I’ve made so many cookies to get this recipe right, so I have a few tips!
But remember, I like my cookies crunchy at the edges and soft and chewy in the middle; if you have a different preference, you’ll need to make adjustments.
- Cut holes in your baking paper. I cut small holes (with scissors, but I very much wish I’d used a hole punch!) in lines about 1 inch apart. This helps the air to circulate and means the bottom of your cookies cooks better.
- Don’t over-mix.
- Press down, but leave space. These cookies aren’t massive spreaders, so you need to press them down, but they will spread a little.
- Leave them in the air fryer basket for 5-10 minutes before removing them, or the bottom might stick.
- Peel away from the baking paper.
Serving Suggestions
Air-fried chocolate chip cookies are perfect as they are with a hot drink for an afternoon pick-me-up or an after-dinner snack.
Alternatively, warm them up and serve with vanilla ice cream for the ultimate chocolate cookie treat!
Variations
There are a few things that you can do differently when you make air fryer choc chip cookies.
Use Chocolate Chips
I like chunks of chocolate, but you can also use chocolate chips without changing the recipe.
Air Fry for Longer for a Crunchy Cookie
If you prefer a crunchy cookie, air fry for 3-5 minutes longer.
Use Different Chocolate
Milk chocolate is excellent, but dark, white, and even pink would also be great!
Change Size
I roll around golf ball-sized cookie dough balls for substantial cookies.
You can make yours bigger or smaller, depending on your preferences and the size of your air fryer. Make sure you adjust the cooking time accordingly.
Leftovers
There’s no such thing as leftover cookies! My air fryer cookie recipe never lasts long enough!
Storage
In a sealed tub, your air fryer chocolate chip cookies will last for up to five days.
FAQ
Yes, you can air fry chocolate chip cookies.
Whether you need to flatten cookies depends on the recipe. These need flattening a little, but not totally; they will spread and flatten a little as they cook.
Yes, you should use parchment paper to air-fry cookies. Cut holes in your paper to help the air circulate if you can.
You can use foil in the air fryer as long as there’s something on top of it to hold it down. But baking paper is better for cookies.
You can put frozen cookie dough in the air fryer. Freeze in flattened rounds and air fry at 150 degrees C for 15 minutes before checking.
Other Air Fryer Recipes for Beginners
If you like this recipe for air fryer chocolate chunk cookies, you might also want to try:
- Air Fryer Tuna Melts
- Jam Flapjacks
- Air Fryer Fruit Scones
- Air Fryer Chicken Wraps
- Chocolate Cake
- Air Fryer Katsu Chicken
- Ary Fryer Loaded Potato Skins
Recipe Card
Air Fryer Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
- 150 g Unsalted Butter ( Carefully Melted)
- 100 g Light Brown Soft Sugar
- 75 g Granulated Sugar
- 1 Egg
- 2 Tablespoons Golden Syrup
- 2 Teaspoons Vanilla Essence
- 320 g Plain Flour
- 1.5 Teaspoons Bicarbonate of Soda
- 300 g Milk Chocolate – Broken up into squares.
Instructions
- Place the squares of chocolate in a large sandwich bag and bash with a rolling pin to create smaller, uneven chunks.
- Set to one side.
- Place the sugars and melted butter in a large mixing bowl and whisk until smooth. I use an electric whisk on medium power, which only takes a few seconds.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the egg, vanilla and syrup.
- Pour the egg mixture into the butter and sugar and whisk together.
- Add the flour and bicarb and whisk until smooth.
- Tip in the broken-up chocolate and whisk or fold through until spread out evenly.
- Place the cookie dough in the fridge for 30 minutes to 1 hour.
- When the dough is chilled, preheat the air fryer to 150 degrees and set for 11 minutes.
- Scoop out four golf ball-sized balls of dough and roll.
- Place on a square of baking paper with small holes cut in.
- Press down into rounds that are between 5mm and 1cm thick, making sure there’s a little room between them.
- Carefully place in the preheated air fryer. Bake in the air fryer for 11 minutes.
- Leave in the air fryer basket to firm up for 5-10 minutes before removing.
- Repeat with all of the dough. This recipe makes around 16 cookies.
Notes
- Cook time above is per batch. How long it takes to complete the cookies will depend on how many you can cook at a time.
- To get my cookies into the air fryer basket, I fold the paper in half, drop it in, and then shake it a little until it is flat so my hands are never close to the hot sides of the basket. There is a video here.
- My current electric whisk can manage cookie dough and even whisk the chocolate in. My old whisk couldn’t handle anything thick, and I’d have to stir with a wooden spoon.
- Don’t use baking paper in your air fryer unless it’s weighed down or will fly up and catch the element; this can lead to a fire.
- See the post above for more tips and advice.
Any nutritional information is given as a general guide only and may not be accurate. The information is provided using an online calculator and is specific to my ingredients. Please make your own calculations if you want precise information.
